The notion of compact city has become an important planning agenda to achieve a sustainable urban future. Although there is no universally accepted definition of a compact city, in terms of land use, the concept generally focuses on high-density and mixed-use development along with the promotion of public transport. It is then generally agreed that such urban development practices would yield various economic, environmental, and social benefits. To understand the impact of the compact city better, we need to develop and use relevant scientific policy support tools. Spatially explicit urban models hold some answers because they yield a logical framework for understanding complex urban systems and provide a virtual laboratory for investigating the outcomes of various urban policy actions. (The rest omitted)